Anyone here a Texas Lawyer that deals with Probate?  I have some questions.  My BIL passed away and died without a signed will and it is causing some issues with a non existent biological father who wasn't in his life from the age of 5 years old until he passed at 41.  My wife (his sister) was granted unrestricted administration over the estate that was signed off by both her mother and her dead beat father.  so my questions are as follows:

1.  How much latitude does the executor have distribute estate assets to living heirs i.e. this person gets 20% while another gets 80%.  Does the executor get final say in who gets what?

2.  Are verbal agreements regarding real property (house and land) between the now deceased owner and sister (my wife) and mother binding in probate?  I can't see why if verbal agreements are valid in other matters and not real estate in this situation.  My BIL stated that a certain percentage of the house/land value is the property of his mother and my wife and there are actual correspondence via emails, txts and actual conversations that I was personally witness too prior this passing.

3.  Can probate be extended in Texas if it is requested by the Executor if more time is needed to deal with the assets in the estate?  If so can the Executor make this request without an attorney to the court?

Thanks in advance for any information

IL lawyer with probate experience.

If I were a betting man I'd bet you $1,000 that TX law has a statute that says exactly what percentage goes to whom when a person dies without a will and there is no leeway in it for anything like a normal situation.......

We have a few exceptions where there is _some_ flexibility like surviving spouse's award, children's award, or you murder someone you don't get anything.

Anyway in for answers in case there are TX lawyers here just because I'm interested......

would verbal agreements supersede that in this case?

Way outside of my ability to answer.  Most states require wills to be written, and most states follow the statute of frauds which require RE contracts to be in writing.

Anyway these are questions the executor needs to explore with her attorney, and a second opinion if there are any concerns about the right answer.

I don’t deal with probate. Executor does not have the kind of authority you would like. Here is a primer,  it you want to retain a subject matter expert. https://www.clearestate.com/en-us/blog/texas-intestate-law

I'm not your attorney, you aren't my client, and this isn't legal advice.  You need a Texas wills and trust attorney yesterday. I'm not one.

Does your BIL have any children?  Is bio dad still alive?

Texas does have rules for Intestate (guy died without a valid will) succession.  They are largely found here, at Texas Estate Code sections 201 and onwards.  I have no idea when those general rules can be altered, if they can at all.  A Texas wills and trusts attorney will know those things.  A brief consultation should be inexpensive.  The attorney will let you know about potential next steps if biological father is relevant in the disposition in your deceased BIL's assets.

Again:  the personal representative of the estate administration needs to talk to an attorney to answer these questions.

Generally, contracts to convey land need to be in writing to be valid.

Short answer- you really need an attorney.


Now I'm not a lawyer but i do deal with this stuff for a living. Most likely result is your MIL gets half, the FIL gets half, and your wife gets nothing. Matters dealing with real estate need to be in writing and the executor deviating from the intestate succession without court order will give your FIL grounds to sue.

A thought: you referred to the FIL as a deadbeat.  Does he still owe back child support?  If so the TX child support office may put a lien on his share of the estate, and your MIL could initiate that process.

Based on Wineraner's link in post #5 is looks like your MIL and FIL are equal heirs.  Your wife would get the standard fee that an executor/administrator is allowed to charge for probate.  She should take it as probating an estate is work.

your wife should be asking these questions of the lawyer who handled the probate for her. the answers are pretty straightforward under Texas law, if that where decedent lived when he died

Not a lawyer but was a beneficiary in a similar case.

In my case one person petitioned court to be executor ("Application for Independent Heirship"), Then all known next of kin ("Application to Determine Heirship") was filed (3 people were heirs). Estate was split equally. You said "granted unrestricted administration". Is this petitioning the court? We used a lawyer to petition the court. Are you sure you have any legal authority? Cause the lawyer who petitioned the court is who you should be asking these questions.

Verbal agreements are meaningless.

AFAIK probate is open until closed. Years is not uncommon. Ours was a little over 2.